Your Financial Wingman
If anything happens to you, your family has a trusted source to consult.
Provided by American Financial Advisors, LLC
If you weren’t around, what would happen to your investments? In many families, one person handles investment decisions, and spouses/children have little knowledge or understanding of what happens each week, month, or year with a portfolio.
In an emergency, this lack of knowledge can become financially paralyzing. Just as small business owners risk problems by “keeping it all in their heads,” families risk problems when only one person understands investments.
A trusted relationship with a financial professional can be vital. If the primary individual handling investment and portfolio management responsibilities in a family passes away, the family has a professional to consult – not a stranger they have to explain their priorities to at length, but someone who has built a bond with mom or dad and perhaps their adult children.
As an added measure to ensure your family is informed, you may want to consider adding a Trusted Contact to your accounts. A Trusted Contact is someone who will be a resource to contact on your behalf, if necessary, to attempt to address concerns regarding potential financial exploitation, or in communicating with you regarding issues related to your accounts. We encourage all clients to add these important contacts for added confidence in the event of an emergency.
You want a professional who is trusted and has a fiduciary role. Look for a financial professional who upholds a fiduciary standard. Professionals who build their businesses on a fiduciary standard tend to work on a fee basis only. Other financial services industry professionals earn much of their compensation from commissions linked to trades or product sales – like high cost annuities.
Commission-based financial professionals don’t necessarily have to abide by a fiduciary standard. Sometimes, only a suitability standard must be met. The difference may seem minor, but it isn’t. The suitability standard, which hails back to the days of cold-calling stockbrokers, dictates that you should recommend investments that are “suitable” to a client.
Think about the conflict this can potentially create for a commission-based professional.
In contrast, a financial professional working by a fiduciary standard always has an ethical requirement to act in a client’s best interest. They are duty bound to recommend investments or products that clearly correspond to the client’s best interests.
At American Financial Advisors, LLC - our clients come first.1
You want a professional who looks out for you. The best financial professionals earn trust through their integrity, character, and ability. In handling portfolios for myriad clients, they have learned to watch for certain concerns and to be aware of certain issues that may get in the way of wealth building or wealth retention.
Many investors have built impressive portfolios but lack long-term wealth management strategies. Money has been made, but little attention has been given to risk exposure, risk management and tax efficiency.
As you near retirement age, playing defense becomes more and more important. A trusted financial professional could help you determine a risk and tax management approach with the potential to preserve your portfolio assets and your estate.
Your family will want nothing less. With a skilled financial professional around to act as a “co-pilot” for your portfolio, your loved ones will have someone to contact should the unexpected happen. When you have a financial professional who can step up and play a fiduciary role for you, today and tomorrow, you have someone whose service and guidance can potentially add value to your financial life.
If you’re the family member in charge of investments and crucial financial matters, don’t let that knowledge disappear at your passing. A will or a trust can transfer assets, but not the acumen by which they have been accumulated. A relationship with a trusted financial professional may help your surviving family members numerous ways.
Please call us at (770) 977-2434, send an email to
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or visit our website at http://afainvestments.com/
This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note - investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.
Citations.
1 - kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T023-C032-S014-choosing-a-financial-adviser-fiduciary-dimension.html [3/22/19]
